Jewish sex abuse counsellor gets 103 years

New York - A religious counsellor in New York City's ultra-orthodox Jewish community has been sentenced to 103 years in prison for molesting a girl who came to him for help.

Nechemya Weberman was sentenced on Tuesday. He was convicted in December of sustained sexual abuse of a child.

His trial put a spotlight on the insular Satmar Hasidic sect and its strict rules governing its interaction with the outside world.

The girl, now 18, had been questioning her faith and dressing immodestly in violation of the sect's customs. She was sent to Weberman for counseling. She says the abuse started when she was 12 and lasted until she was 15.

Weberman testified that he "never, ever" abused her.

New York is home to the largest community of ultra-orthodox Jews outside Israel.